The Craven Arms image

The Craven Arms

Bar Pub

👍👍 As perfect a traditional city pub as one could wish to find anywhere. Beautiful both inside and out. A superb range of beers etc., friendly staff and excellent proper pub snacks. Wish I could have stayed longer! People often mention ales, real, beers, friendly, beer, great, selection, Black, Country, Birmingham,


Address

47 Upper Gough St, Birmingham B1 1JL, United Kingdom

Website

facebook.com

Contact

+44 121 269 4113

Price rating

$$ $$

Rating on Google Maps

4.60 (937 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Thursday: 12 to 11 pm
  • Friday: 12 pm to 12 am
  • Saturday: 12 pm to 12 am
  • Sunday: 12 to 11 pm
  • Monday: 12 to 11 pm
  • Tuesday: 12 to 11 pm
  • Wednesday: 12 to 11 pm

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: ales (15) real (10) beers (9) friendly (9) beer (9) great (8) selection (7) Black (6) Country (6) Birmingham (6)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Simon R. 1 year ago on Google
    As perfect a traditional city pub as one could wish to find anywhere. Beautiful both inside and out. A superb range of beers etc., friendly staff and excellent proper pub snacks. Wish I could have stayed longer!
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Keith B. 10 months ago on Google
    Excellent Black Country Ales pub which I visited last Friday near to the Mailbox in Birmingham. I had a pint of the Excellent Mango cider, a cheese and onion cob and a bag 🎒 of pork scratchings, a lovely drinkers combination. It was before my trip to the Old Rep to see Martin O'Neill in conversation
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 MrG 1 year ago on Google
    Stumbled across this pub when searching for a proper real ale pub. Wasn't disappointed. They have 11 cask pubs on alone, let alone the keg and ciders. So something for everyone to enjoy. Good beer with good quality. Feels like a proper real ale pub too. Friendly staff who will give you the time of day too. Would definitely have it as a local if I lived in the area
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Keith J. 2 years ago on Google
    A Black Country Ales pub with a great selection of real ales not just their own. Eight pumps available when we visited. They also serve some craft beer. A traditional heritage boozer decorated with ceramic tiles. Cosy interior with a open fire and a pub cat. A great contrast to the fizz palaces around Broad Street. Friendly staff . Sells cheese and onion cobs scotch eggs and sausage rolls. Just around the corner from the Mailbox and 5 minutes from New Street station.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Som น้องส้ม พาเพลิน P. 5 months ago on Google
    Nice looking good nice serve I come have for coffee so lovely
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Sean H. 9 months ago on Google
    Proper pub with proper beer! An absolute god send for a beer drinker staying at iBis Budget in Birmingham. Lovely old style pub with an amazing selection of ales in draft and a very friendly barman. Didn't really get to speak with any of the locals as they were all doing their own things whilst I was alone but it didn't really spoil the experience as the bar and beers were so great. Did speak to some ex locals who were in the rail industry and lovely people. Definitely recommend it if you are into ales or nearby, especially the Black Country ales beers which were all absolutely outstanding.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Jonny J. 1 year ago on Google
    Decent pub recommended to me whilst staying locally. Plenty choice of beers although non were spectacular. A few were local. Both hand pull and keg. Bar snacks behind bar were quite expensive Good atmosphere and decent friendly crowd, A little dark noticed there were a few light bulbs removed or needing replaced and wall lights turned off. Gave it 4 stars as I did enjoy the visit.

  • 5/5 clive p. 1 year ago on Google
    Restored victorian pub. Craft ales massive list of draft beers including guiness. 20 minutes from town centre in a back st. Use maps to find.

  • 5/5 Keith W. 6 months ago on Google
    Visited on a Tuesday night when in Birmingham for work. Pleasant and friendly par men served nice beer and ale. While the cat watched 🤣

  • 5/5 Vern 6 months ago on Google
    Glorious pub. Great ales, service and prices. You can tell the owners have devoted time to making the venue look good. Recommended.

  • 5/5 Martin R. 4 months ago on Google
    Best pub in Birmingham City Centre. Perfectly kept real ales, including Black Country Ales. Traditional decor and very friendly atmosphere. I was invited to tell my lifestyle within 60 seconds on stepping up to the bar.

  • 5/5 Stefan B. 9 months ago on Google
    A lovely traditional city centre pub with a great selection of beers!

  • 4/5 Petr “Švany” �. 8 months ago on Google
    You know it is great but… it can be better. Please have someone behind the bar who knows. The house is amazing. It screams history. But make sure the personel can talk to the customer and is able to explain the diffencies between the beer on tap. Cheers from Czech Rep.

  • 5/5 Keith M. 10 months ago on Google
    Proper boozer! Quiet, so you can have a conversation without shouting. Friendly. Great & extensive collection of real ale at reasonable prices. In the "decent ale" desert of central Birmingham, this is the oasis.

  • 5/5 kim g. 1 year ago on Google
    Great pub. Make their own fresh bread, pork pies, cobs . Get have a wide range of great ales, the staff are very helpful and friendly. A treasure of Birminham, well worth a visit. Get there early, the bread sells out very quickly!

  • 5/5 Neil S. 1 year ago on Google
    Not a regular but casual visitor. Perfect combination of cask and craft, old school architecture and cheese and onion cobs. Perfect antidote to the hyper corporate mailbox next door.

  • 5/5 Sean H. 9 months ago on Google
    Proper pub with proper beer! An absolute god send for a beer drinker staying at iBis Budget in Birmingham. Lovely old style pub with an amazing selection of ales in draft and a very friendly barman. Didn't really get to speak with any of the locals as they were all doing their own things whilst I was alone but it didn't really spoil the experience as the bar and beers were so great. Did speak to some ex locals who were in the rail industry and lovely people. Definitely recommend it if you are into ales or nearby, especially the Black Country ales beers which were all absolutely outstanding.

  • 4/5 Janusz M. 1 year ago on Google
    Really nice pub, homely, clean. Good choice of beers. Our hostess was cool ( name unknown), she introduced us to her hound Phoebe as we had brought in 3 of ours.

  • 5/5 D A P. 1 year ago on Google
    Just the best. Been coming here, on personal recommendation initially, for years. John and his family team run this place exactly the way a pub should be run. Location, atmosphere, choice, value and hospitability are spot on. Leave your money here, not at any big city centre boozer, you won't be sorry.

  • 5/5 John W. 1 year ago on Google
    Great little tradition pub part of the Black Country Ales group. Always wide selection of real ales available (9 on my visit) at usual city centre prices. Quiet weekday afternoons but can be very busy evenings and weekends.

  • 5/5 Sharon T. 1 year ago on Google
    Proper old pub with a great selection of real ales, all of which were displayed on an electronic noticeboard with prices. Landlord was very friendly and knowledgeable. Relaxed atmosphere and also dog-friendly.

  • 5/5 RevFrL B. 1 year ago on Google
    Great pub. Good selection of real ales. Well worth a visit

  • 5/5 Steve P. 1 year ago on Google
    Stumbled across this gem of a pub and what a result! An excellent range of local real ales, brilliantly well kept. Highly recommended 👌

  • 5/5 Kevin B. 1 year ago on Google
    Great old fashioned well kept real ale pub, friendly service, not sure if food was available though, beer was good 👍


Call +44 121 269 4113 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Pets
    • ✓️ Dogs allowed
  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Food
    • ✓️ Wine
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Spirits
    • ✓️ Food at bar
  • Accessibility
    • ✗ Wheelchair-accessible car park
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible entrance
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✗ Delivery
    • ✗ Takeaway

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